The NCAA enforcement staff’s response to Miami’s move to dismiss the charges against it in the Nevin Shapiro mess is in. It’s not impressed.

Portions of the contents of the enforcement department’s 42-page response to the NCAA infractions committee were relayed to CBSSports.com. That response followed Miami’s motion to the infractions committee to drop the case on March 29. Enforcement’s response is signed by interim director Jon Duncan.

The first sentence of the enforcement response reads: “From the enforcement’s staff perspective the motion to dismiss by the institution and involved individuals are attempts to deflect attention from the significant allegations that remain in the case.”

Is Shapiro’s “self-corroboration” (as Miami describes it) an attention deflector or a significant allegation? Guess it depends on which side of the fence you’re standing. Which is kind of the essence of the problem here, no?

I think you’re right, but in this case Miami has already self-imposed a bowl ban, relinquished the title of whatever division of the ACC they play in, etc. It wouldn’t surprise me if the NCAA just called it and said “we’re even”.

Not only the essence, but figures to be the big problem with NCAA enforcement old farts remembering the Pittsburg case in the 70s “lacking a specific record”.

While the NCAA’s reasoning stinks up the joint, Miami has them tethered by a part of their anatomy such that the NCAA’s heart and mind will follow. On the one hand they are accepting as “self-corroboration” the words that Shapiro repeats more than once, whereas Miami can now depose the older inspectors twice to take advantage of the new precedent while going forward. NCAA’s “Self-corroboration” precedent will give birth to a Miami defense precedent based on the same premise. . Nice predicament. You gotta work at that shit.

Prediction: If the NCAA doesn’t drop this case their self-inflicted wounds will run them out of the enforcement business and become the bane of their existence .

Quote Of The Day

“Being a student at Georgia and playing ball, I’ve definitely grown, widened my horizons and experienced things I never thought I would. I feel like I’ve grown on and off the field, and the university prepared me for that. I’ve done some awesome things and met some awesome people. I’ll definitely be back to finish my schoolwork, because that was a big priority for me and my family and weighed heavily on my decision. I know football won’t last forever. It’ll be great to come back and get that degree, so I can tell my kids about it one day.” — Roquan Smith, AJ-C, 3/7/18